Spontaneous Smartphone Networks as a User-Centric Solution for the Future Internet

In this paper we focus on a special case of User-Centric Networks (UCNs), named SpontaneousSmartphones-based Networks (SSNs), where the role of the end-user devices is played by smartphonesthat are, “evolutionary” and more active in supporting communication services. SSNs present key featureslike spontaneity in the creation of the network and redefinition of the devices’ role in order to make themcontinuously adaptive to both network and users requirements. This work is devoted to identify thepotential advantages of SSNs, by also providing a clear definition of the challenges and the issues thatneed to be faced in order to make this emerging paradigm effective and practically deployable. Startingfrom a commonly available smartphone, key guidelines are provided on how to implement a SSN capableterminal and a small test-bed is presented to showcase the feasibility of SSNs.